Endocrine Abstracts

In the United States of America, among adults, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased nearly 5 fold over the last half century. During this unfolding epidemic among adults, type 2 diabetes has now emerged among children. Primarily thought to be a disease of adults, type 2 diabetes was first described among Pima Indian children in the late 1970s. Since then, a number of clinic-base case series have clearly described type 2 diabetes in children of all racial and ethnic groups. The groups affected the most appear to be children from American Indians populations and from the First Nations People of Canada. A limited number of population-based studies have confirmed these trends, however better epidemiology studies are needed. Secular trends in decreased physical activity and increasing obesity among children in the United States are likely the major factors in this emerging clinical and public health problem. A multicenter study among an estimated 6000 prevalent cases and 800 incident cases per year of childhood diabetes is currently underway.